Pendragon: The Keys of Destiny
by Quatre Winner
Summary: Bobby Pendragon thought he’d figured out all he needed to know about being a Traveler. A trip to Traverse Town will prove him wrong as he learns that Halla is being threatened by a far more dangerous force than Saint Dane: The Heartless. On Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Quatre: Well, at least one person expressed interest in my Pendragon/Kingdom Hearts crossover, so I'll go ahead and post it. For those who don't know about Pendragon and are only reading this because it's Kingdom Hearts, I suggest you go and read the Pendragon books. They're as good as, if not better than, Harry Potter.

Not much else left to say, and, as I'm in school and supposed to be working on my Latin study guide, Ame-tachi has run away.

Enjoy!

* * *

Warnings: AU post-Reality Bug, Pendragon. AU before Hollow Bastion but after Neverland, Kingdom Hearts. Not shonen-ai… yet. 

Disclaimer: I own neither Pendragon nor Kingdom Hearts.

Notes: Journals will be titled with the name of the territory in …. Everything else will be titled with the name of the territory in /…/.

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**Chapter One**

* * *

Traverse Town 

Hey guys. I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. Things are normal; that is to say, crazy. Since Veelox fell, nothing I've known to true about being a Traveler has been the same.

But let me back up.

You last heard from me on Veelox, right? After my failure on that territory, I feared for Gunny's life. I didn't want anything to happen to Gunny, so I went off to Eelong to see if he needed my help.

I stepped from the flume in time to see Gunny entering it. The African-American Traveler blinked, as if he were surprised to see me there. The feeling was mutual.

"What're you doing here?" I asked him.

Gunny sighed. "Saint Dane isn't here, Pendragon. The local Traveler told me that this territory's turning point came and went. Press was here to help her stop Saint Dane. He tricked us."

I stood in silence processing this fact. "Where did he go, if he isn't here?" I asked quietly.

"Kasha says she chased Saint Dane to a flume, but could not get there in time to stop him. He went to a place called 'Traverse Town'."

"Will you come with me to Traverse Town?" I asked. I didn't want to face Saint Dane alone. Loor had to go back to Zadaa, and I didn't trust Spader to not screw up the mission.

Gunny shook his head. "I've been away from First Earth long enough. I just want to go back to being a bellhop. I'm too old for this Traveler business. I thought I could take it, but after what I've seen here…" He smiled weakly. "It has been an honor working with you, Pendragon, but I'm afraid I will only burden you."

I nodded sadly, and was completely surprised when Gunny stepped forward and wrapped me up in a grandfatherly hug. "Come and visit, ya hear?"

I choked back tears. "All right."

He stepped to the mouth of the flume, smiled at me over his shoulder, and called out, "First Earth!"

A moment later he was gone.

I stood there like an idiot for a few minutes afterwards. I was sad to see Gunny go. I mean, after the near-fiasco on First Earth, I had felt a little better knowing that Gunny was working with me.

But now…

I banished those thoughts from my mind and stepped to the flume. Now was not the time. Instead, I had to go to this Traverse Town place and figure out for myself what was really happening there.

"Traverse Town!" I called.

As the flume caught me, I wondered briefly why the territory was called a town.

* * *

The flume dropped me into an underground cavern that reminded me of Cloral. There was a small shelf of rock overlooking a pool of water, with a tunnel entrance in the water. I did not want to swim out of here, especially not in my Veelox jumpsuit. Belatedly, I looked around and spotted the familiar pile of clothes near the entrance of a small room directly opposite the tunnel. In this room was a small platform at about head height. With luck, this would take me out of here. 

First things first. Clothes.

I dug through the pile and was glad to see that the clothes looked like they'd come from Second Earth. I gladly pulled on a pair of black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Also in the pile was a standard pair of sneakers, a pair of blue fingerless gloves, and a black vest that hung open over my t-shirt.

I didn't see anything wrong with keeping my boxers this time.

After hiding the Veelox clothes, I climbed onto the small platform and looked up. The room's ceiling extended into darkness. I looked around and saw that the stone wall looked like it had been scraped by something that was exactly as big as the platform. The scrape marks went up.

Even as I noticed these things, the stone platform began moving. I wasn't ready and fell flat on my butt. Was this the Traverse Town version of an elevator? If so, then it seemed pretty low tech to me.

The ride up was slow, so I sat on the platform and began turning my thoughts to what I was supposed to do on this territory. From what I've experienced so far, I always landed near the Traveler from the local territory.

How was I going to find him, though? I couldn't exactly go around broadcasting the fact that I was from another territory.

I could only hope that the Traveler would recognize my name and seek me out.

My musings were interrupted by a light steadily growing brighter above my head. I fell into a crouch, prepared as I would ever be for whatever awaited me.

The tunnel slowly grew brighter and brighter. I held my breath, waiting to see what I would find at the top of the elevator.

Finally, I emerged into… a sitting room.

What the…?

"How are your travels, Sora?" a voice called from outside. I could tell he was an old man, but he sounded as full of life as a teenager.

Was Sora the Traveler from this territory? If so, then maybe this man could help me find him.

Before I could find the owner of the voice, he found me. A tall, aged man in what we on Second Earth would call blue witch clothes, hat and everything, walked into the room and saw me. He didn't look disappointed at finding someone else. Rather, he smiled wider than before, his hat threatening to fall off.

"Welcome! Forgive me, but usually Sora comes that way, and I thought you were him. My name is Merlin, and would you like some tea?"

I stared at him. He didn't seem to notice or mind, instead turning to the table that dominated the sitting room. I finally blinked and looked around the room.

This was a one-room house. The bed was jammed near the wall of the circular room, with junk cluttering almost every square inch of the area surrounding a raised platform, which held a table ringed with chairs. Merlin brought me a cup of tea. "Are you new to Traverse Town?" he asked kindly. I took the cup and smiled at him, taking a sip. It wasn't bad. I walked over to the table and sat down.

"Yeah," I admitted, thinking that this couldn't be the only place in the territory.

"I see," Merlin said. "So, which world are you from?"

I stared dumbly at him. How could he…?

"It's okay. Only people who've lost their own world find their way to Traverse Town. I myself am not native to here."

"I'm from Second Earth," I said uncertainly. "My name is Bobby Pendragon."

"Ah, Press's nephew? He's told me about you. He said you would be coming here eventually." Merlin smiled.

At that exact moment I was wondering how everyone knew my Uncle Press.

"Are you…?" I began.

"No, I'm not a Traveler, nor am I an acolyte. Press came to Traverse Town a few years ago and tried coming up with some story about being from another town in this territory, but there are no other towns. Traverse Town is the only place in this territory, but believe me, this place is huge. He told me about the Travelers then, and since then, I've been waiting for you. The flume entrance is down there, isn't it?"

I was speechless. That answered my question about why the territory was named.

"Y-y-yes," I stuttered.

Merlin smiled. "No need to be so nervous, child. I assure you, I have no intention of causing you harm, though it is well in my power to do so."

That was supposed to make me feel better?

"What would you prefer to be called?" Merlin asked. "Bobby, Pendragon, or Robert?"

"Bobby," I answered. Finally, my brain caught back up to me and I remembered that I was supposed to be looking for Traverse Town's Traveler. "Do you know the Traveler from this territory?"

"No one in Traverse Town is indigenous to this territory," Merlin said, as if I should have known this all along. I stared at him openmouthed.

I'm sure you can understand my confusion. From what I've learned, only Travelers can travel between territories. This threw that law out the window.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"As I've said before," Merlin said calmly, "Traverse Town is the territory for those who have no place else to go." His voice took on a sad note as he said this.

Realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and I gulped.

"You mean more territories have already fallen?" I asked weakly.

"Yes, but not to Saint Dane," Merlin assured me. "There is still time to save those territories and send everyone home."

"How? What caused them to fall?" I wanted to know.

"Leon will explain. He knows about Travelers, as he was an acolyte before his home territory fell. You can find him in the first disctrict of the city, near the item shop."

"How do I know one district from the next?" I wanted to know.

"Look above the large double doors. They will tell you which district you are in, and the doors lead to another section." Merlin frowned. "You must be cautious, Bobby. There are forces in this town that want to destroy it." He stood up from the table and walked over to a large pile of junk covered by a large tarp. He peeled back the tarp to reveal a variety of things, among them books, dishware, and weapons. It took him a moment to locate what he wanted, but he tugged it out and I saw that he had a long, Japanese-style sword. He came back to the table and set the sword down.

"This is an ancient weapon from my home territory," he said solemnly. "It is enchanted so that with it a noble heart can cut down those with even the most corrupted of hearts. A later magician enchanted it so that its bearer would be granted the skills to use it as long as it was this weapon that was being held. I want you to take it."

I gaped at him. This sounded like a cool weapon, and very valuable. Why would he give it to someone he'd never met before today?

"I can't take it from out of this territory," I realized with regret. Merlin pinned me with an intense gaze the likes of which rivaled Saint Dane's. I wasn't frightened, though. He didn't want to scare me.

"Heed my words, Robert Pendragon," he said solemnly. "The boundaries that separated the territories have weakened, almost to the point of breakage. Leon can explain this better, but trust me when I say the normal rules don't apply. Take this weapon with you wherever you go, for it is instrumental in the fight to come."

I nodded and took the weapon from the table. There was a belt attached, and I threaded it through the loops of my jeans. Merlin helped me adjust the sword so that it hung on my left side and didn't get in the way of my walking.

"Do you remember where Leon is?" Merlin asked.

"First district, Item shop," I recited. My left hand rested on the hilt of my new sword. It felt strange.

Merlin smiled. "Good luck, Bobby." He motioned to a curtain hiding a section of wall. "That will lead you to Traverse Town proper. Be careful, though. The stepping stones move."

"Move?" I asked. "Like that stone elevator?"

Now that I thought back, there was nothing that could have moved the platform. I hadn't seen any pulleys or anything.

"You may not believe it, but magic exists," Merlin chuckled. "Leon will explain more."

I nodded. "Thanks," I said sincerely.

He turned away from me, and I ducked through the curtain to find myself in a large cavern.

Did I say large? Scratch that. It was huge.

It was circular and domed. When I looked up, I couldn't see the ceiling for the shadows. Water surrounded this little shack, like a moat, protecting Merlin from uninvited guests. I didn't see any stepping stones, so I walked around the house until I reached the front door.

What I saw made me stop and stare like an idiot.

There were stepping stones, I didn't bother to count how many, forming a path from the far side of the cavern, where I could see a tunnel leading out of the cavern, to the little island I was standing on.

These stepping stones moved. They drifted steadily back and forth, no more than two lining up at one time. I had no idea how I was supposed to jump that, but there was no other way out, so I took a steadying breath, backed up a bit, and waited for the nearest stepping stone to pass by.

When it did, I jumped onto it. It was only a few feet from the island, but I nearly toppled into the water because the stone moved to the side, whereas I was moving straight. Some physics thing or other dealing with force and friction and Mew… What did Pokemon have to do with physics?

I couldn't help my chuckle. Of all the inane things to worry about, this was one of the silliest.

I figured that if, instead of jumping straight across, I could jump a little in the direction the stone was moving, I wouldn't have as much of a problem. So, I tried it.

Thank you for teaching me some physics, Mark. Turns out it wasn't so useless after all.

My idea worked. After that, all I had to do was time my jumps right and I wouldn't have a problem.

I made it across and patted myself on the back. Then I turned to the tunnel and started forward.

Leon was waiting for me, whoever he was.

* * *

/Second Earth/ 

Mark and Courtney looked up from Bobby's latest journal at the sound of the basement door opening. The two of them were down in Courtney's basement, as usual, and didn't think that anyone would bother them there.

"Courtney?" Mr. Chetwynde called tentatively.

"Yeah?" Courtney called back.

"I want to try something. Do you mind if I come down there?"

Courtney raised an eyebrow. Since when did her dad have to ask to use his own workshop?

"It's all right!" she said. Mark rolled up Bobby's latest journal and stuffed it into his bookbag. They both stood and passed Mr. Chetwynde on their way up the stairs.

"I'm heading over to Mark's place," Courtney called over her shoulder. "I'll be back before dinner."

The two of them left Courtney's house and walked to Mark's house in silence.

Of course the two of them knew all about the fall of Veelox. They'd received that journal a month ago, and were shocked that the good guys hadn't won. Since then, they'd kept an eye on the flume in the haunted house, dutifully carrying out their tasks as Second Earth's acolytes, hoping, praying, that Bobby was able to stop Saint Dane.

This new information threw a wrench into the works.

"What did Merlin mean, the barriers between the worlds were breaking?" Mark suddenly asked quietly. "Can normal people from Cloral or Denduron use the flumes now? Or will one world slip into another, or-"

"I don't know," Courtney cut him off. "Let's get back to your room and finish the journal. Then we can figure out what we need to do next."

They made the rest of the trip in silence. Mark's parents were out, so they sat down in the living room.

"Let's get this show back on the road," Courtney said bravely as Mark pulled out the journal. This one was written on thick paper, in sheets tied together in a crude binding. It was written in purple ink.

* * *

Traverse Town 

I exited the cavern and was relieved to find myself in an actual town. The entrance to Merlin's peculiar cave rested behind a door with a flame emblem on it. This door slid shut behind me as I walked down the alleyway that the door lay at the end of. It wasn't a long alleyway, but long enough that people left it alone.

I emerged from the alleyway and saw a set of double doors almost directly ahead of me. A sign at the top proclaimed that I was in the Third District. I had no idea what was behind those doors, but what else could I do? I headed for them.

I didn't notice the danger until it was around me.

The air sort of shimmered, like on hot days, you know? From these patches of shimmering air popped creatures the likes of which I'd never seen before, but that reminded me horribly of the Reality Bug.

I was surrounded by ten night-black creatures half my size. They were vaguely human shaped, with clawed hands and expressionless faces. From their heads were long things that could be either ears or antennae.

I looked closer and realized something that made my skin crawl.

These things didn't have faces. I saw two shiny points that could possibly be eyes, and a slit that could maybe have been a mouth, but I saw nothing else.

They formed a circle around me, and I gulped. These things couldn't be good news. The only weapon I had was the one Merlin had given me, so I drew the sword and waited for them to make the first move. For all I knew, they could be pets here in Traverse Town.

The one directly in front of me tilted its head, as if it were studying me just like I was studying it. I shifted nervously, my other hand coming up to grasp the hilt of this sword on its own.

Then, it attacked.

I ducked to the side and slashed at it. My sword sliced through it like it was made of shadow, but it screamed and vanished. As if this were the signal, the other things leapt at me. I spun and blocked a claw, then turned the block into an attack that caught it in the middle. It, too, screamed and vanished.

That left eight of them. I didn't wait for them to attack this time. I raised my sword and charged.

I managed to get two of them with one shot, then used the momentum from the slice to twirl away from the claws of another as it came at me from the side. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't stop to think. All I knew was that if I stopped, those claws would tear me apart.

I was starting to get tired, too. I wasn't used to this. I could run for my life if I had to, but this – this was new.

A stab finished off the fifth opponent, but I was too late to block another and felt claws tear through my lower left arm, leaving angry red trails that started oozing red. I brought the sword down in an arc over its head, but the pain from my left arm was immense and the blow was noticeably weaker. It staggered back and came at me again, and I brought my sword up to block.

This was bad. I kept blocking blows, backing up and trying to get away. All five of them were in front of me, and my back was to the double doors that led to who-knew where. If I could get to those, maybe I could get away from these shadow-creatures.

I was wishing for Loor right now more than you can ever know. She was usually the one who took care of the fighting. But now I was on my own.

My back thunked against the doors. I was pinned.

Obviously I didn't die, because I'm writing this to you now. My salvation came in the form of a maybe twenty-something man who looked like he could be a biker from Second Earth. His hair was long and dark, and his sword was so big he had to use both hands to swing it.

For the moment, he was my best friend. No offense, Mark.

His sword cut through three of them, then he jumped back to stand beside me.

"Are you all right?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Just got scratched a bit."

Up close I could tell that his hair was brown, and his eyes were a kind, understanding blue.

"Are you still okay to fight?"

I nodded again, raising my sword that looked tiny compared to his.

We both charged at the shadow creatures together. The remaining two creatures didn't stand a chance.

I stood there breathing hard, standing next to a man that I didn't know. He could be Saint Dane for all I knew.

At the moment, I was tired, sweaty, and injured. Now that adrenaline was flowing from my system, I noticed numerous other cuts that I had somehow gotten. Why hadn't I noticed them before?

"Let me see your arm," he instructed me. I held it out to him without thinking. Did I mention that he was on my left side, too? He studied the gashes for a moment, then caught my hand in a surprisingly gentle grip and pulled me away from the doors I'd been fighting to get to.

"I have to get to the First District," I protested. Then an idea hit me. "Do you know a man named Leon?"

If he lived in Traverse Town, then chances are he knew the man I was looking for.

He didn't answer. We climbed a set of stairs that lay to the left of the doors and headed for a brightly lit house next to another set of double doors. He led me inside and plopped me down into a chair, then turned around and rummaged through a cabinet, returning to the table with a basket of medical supplies. I surrendered my arm to him without having to be asked. He gently began wiping the blood away from the cuts.

We sat in silence for a few moments as he finished cleaning my arm and started wrapping it in bandages.

"What business do you have with Leon?" he asked suddenly. I looked up at him. He was focused on my arm and didn't look up, so I couldn't see his face.

"I'm supposed to find him. Merlin said he could explain the territory to me," I answered. "Merlin said he would be in the first district by the item shop."

He finished his task and finally looked up at me. I could see curiosity swimming in his eyes, and a bit of… humor?

"Territory," he repeated softly. "You're a Traveler, then. What brings you to Traverse Town?"

I stared in shock. Suspicion crept in, then.

"You're Leon," I guessed.

He laughed. "That's right. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Bobby Pendragon." I looked at my arm and studied the bandages. "I'm from Second Earth. Merlin told me you could explain why no one in Traverse Town is from this territory."

"Second Earth? You must be Press' nephew, then." Leon smiled wistfully. "If you're the Traveler, then Press must be dead. It's a shame."

Why did everyone know Uncle Press?

"Saint Dane isn't the biggest threat in Halla," Leon said, serious again. I brought my arms up to the table to rest my head on them to listen, then realized I'd never sheathed my sword and did so. "There are beings in Halla that have no heart. By heart, I mean spirit or soul, nothing in them that would make them human. These creatures were born long ago from the darkness in the human heart, and recently, a sorceress named Maleficent has released these beings from their territory. They are the Heartless, and their goal is to find the heart of every territory. If they gain control of the heart, the territory is destroyed. This has happened to dozens of territories already."

I had to sit a minute and let everything sink in.

"What is the heart of a territory?" I asked at length.

"It's better known as the Keyhole, and it is in an out of the way place where none of the territory's inhabitants travel, or if they do, it is rarely. Sometimes, as in Traverse Town, it is in the place least expected."

"So Traverse Town's Keyhole was already found?" I asked.

Leon nodded. "The Keyholes can be sealed, but only by the bearer of the Keyblade." He frowned in thought. "Cloud has told me that you are the lead Traveler. Maybe you should meet Sora."

Sora? Merlin had mentioned a Sora, too.

"Who's Sora?" I wanted to know.

"He's the Keyblade bearer, and the one to save Traverse Town. We all owe our lives to him," Leon said.

I had several other questions, but I wanted to choose my next one carefully. Some of my questions had already been answered. I'm sure those shadow creatures had been Heartless.

"So who exactly is Sora?" I wanted to know. Merlin trusted Leon, and if Leon wanted me to see this Sora person, then I would.

"You'll meet him tomorrow. Everything I know about him is up to him to tell you," Leon said, and I didn't argue. "Now, I'm going to go get some things. You don't need to worry about the Heartless; Merlin's cast charms about this place. Feel free to take the bed. I don't usually sleep here." With that, he picked up his sword and left me alone in the house.

As soon as he mentioned the word "sleep", I realized that I really was tired. I looked around and saw the bed that Leon had mentioned. It was jammed in a corner and littered with books. I got up from the table and moved the books to the table, then slipped off my sneakers, set the sword on the floor next to the bed, and climbed in.

I was asleep within minutes.

* * *

Quatre: Good? Bad? Confusing? 

Ja!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi there! Must be something in the food. First SSR, then this? I must be delusional or something.

Then again, I'm bored out of my skull and my eyes are ready to fall out.

Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix Plus is slated for a March 07 release! As for how that relates to this fic... I don't know. I'm still working out which details from KH2 I'm going to include. I have a few interesting ideas though, no worries, so I promise things won't be boring!

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Pendragon. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney, and Pendragon is the brainchild of DJ McHale. Gasp a proper disclaimer!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

::Traverse Town::

The next morning Leon led me to the First District. No Heartless attacked us, and Leon told me that the Heartless couldn't get into the First District. When I asked him why, he couldn't tell me.

"Do you have any munny on you?" Leon asked me as we made our way through the nearly deserted streets of the First District.

"No," I answered honestly. Yes, I spelled it right before. Munny is not like Second Earth money.

He showed me some munny. They were little gold and blue balls, and the larger they were the more they were worth. "Heartless drop these sometimes. You can use munny here on Traverse Town to buy accessories, potions, and other things that you might need."

"Potions?" I asked. "What kind of potions?"

"Potions to heal you, potions to replenish magical energy, things like that," Leon said.

This sounded like I'd been dropped into Harry Potter. Joy.

"Come on. I'll buy you a few things that you may find useful."

We stopped in front of a large building with a sign that proclaimed "Accessory Shop." I could see the Item Shop to my left.

"Accessories first," Leon directed, pushing me into the shop. I didn't argue. Leon knew the most about this territory out of the two of us. I would do what he said… for now.

"Good afternoon," an elder gentleman said politely from behind the sales counter. "What would you like to buy today?"

Leon walked up to the counter and leaned against it while studying me.

"I'll take a Protect Necklace, a Power Chain, and an Angel Ring," he said at length.

"Is that all?" the cashier asked pleasantly.

"Yes, thanks," Leon replied. He handed over a mound of munny and received a necklace, chain, and ring in return. I followed him dutifully outside again.

"Here you are. The Protect Necklace does like it says, protect. The Power Chain will increase the strength of your attacks. Finally, the Angel Ring will reduce the damage you're given, effectively increasing your chances of surviving." Leon explained the functions of the items without missing a beat. I think he's done this sort of thing before.

I nodded and accepted the items. In order for them to work, though, I had to actually wear them. That was no problem for the ring and necklace. I had no idea where the length of chain was supposed to go, though. Leon saw my confusion and showed me how to hook it to my belt loops, like those wallets with chains that we saw in the store before. Only both ends of the chain went onto separate loops. It was so long that, despite one end being hooked up on the back of my jeans and the other on the front, there was still enough slack for it to swing as I walked.

I wondered how these things worked and whether they really did or not. I didn't feel any differently.

"Now what?" I asked him.

"We'll need some potions," he said and led me to the Item Shop.

The cashiers for this shop were three ducks. No lie. They looked like kids, maybe, and each had on a different color shirt which was, I guess, the only way to distinguish one from the next. I couldn't tell, that's for sure.

Leon went up to the duck that was sitting on the counter. This one had on a red shirt and a matching baseball cap.

"Heya Leon. Going off to the tournament at the Coliseum?" it asked him.

Leon nodded. "I need some Potions and Ethers, though. Hi-Potions if you have them."

"Is this kid gonna be your partner, Leon?" the duck wearing a green shirt asked, poking my leg (the only bit of me he could reach). "He seems puny."

"Target practice," the blue-clothed duck snickered. I'll refer to them by their colors from now on. That is, until I figure out which are Hughie, Dewey, and Louie. Am I even spelling those right?

"I'll show you target practice," I snapped at Blue. He eeped and dove behind the counter.

"Play nice, now," Leon admonished. He scooped up various bottles from the counter and nodded farewell to Red. We left some very disgruntled ducks behind.

"The green potions are… well, Potions," he tried to explain when we were outside on a large flight of stairs leading directly to the Accessory Shop. "Basically, they heal your wounds. The blue ones are Ethers. Ethers replenish your energy, but sleep is always best. I only use Ethers in an emergency." He produced an inconspicuous black bag from somewhere and loaded half of the Potions and Ethers into it. He then handed the bag into me. I was wondering how he'd managed to fit around ten bottles that were none too small into a pouch no bigger than my hand.

"This is where you can keep your munny and any other items you find or buy. Don't worry about running out of space. It's bottomless, but somehow you never lose anything."

I rubbed my head against a blossoming headache. None of this was logical at all and my brain was starting to hurt. Leon saw my confused expression and chuckled.

"Second Earth doesn't have anything like this, huh? No magic anywhere?"

I shook my head. "Not that I've seen that wasn't a trick in some way or another."

"Well, you better get used to this. Magic is used on a lot of worlds that the Heartless are after. You have to learn to defend against it, or you'll die before you complete your task." Leon was deadly serious when saying this, and I didn't doubt him. He then glanced at his left hand and, I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but there was a Traveler ring there. It was visibly twitching, and I could see the gray stone turning clear.

"Mail's in," he quipped, removing the ring and setting it on the steps next to us. I looked around uneasily. Shouldn't we at least hide?

Before I could voice this thought, he said, "No one will think anything of it. They'll assume that it's something from my home territory and dismiss it."

After the light show that I guess you guys go through every time I send a journal, the ring returned to normal. Lying next to it was unmistakably a Traveler's journal. It was a long scroll of paper similar to what I'd used on Denduron, but a lot… I dunno, more civilized? It wasn't as crude, almost like the paper that was used for the first printers way back when. You know, the stuff that you had to tear the pages apart.

Leon unrolled it and scanned the first few lines. "What have you gotten into this time, Cloud?" he sighed. He then rolled it back up and stuck it into his own little black bag. "That can wait, I guess. I have to take you to Sora, first."

"Where is Sora?" I asked. "Is he in Traverse Town?"

Leon shook his head. "He's most likely gone to the Tournament at the Coliseum. It's in another territory, Olympus I think the proper name for it is, but everyone just calls it the Coliseum."

"You're not a Traveler. How can you get from one territory to the next?" I wanted to know. Did this have something to do with the weakening Barrier between the territories Merlin had mentioned?

"Come on and I'll show you," he said, standing and descending the stairs. I followed him to a large set of double doors that said simply "Exit".

"Where do those lead?" I asked him as he unlatched them. If Traverse Town was the entire territory, where would an exit lead us?

He pushed the doors open and stepped through. I guess I was gonna see for myself. I followed him and the doors closed behind me.

This place was… spectacular. I was standing on a little strip of land surrounding tall walls. Outside of Traverse Town's walls was… nothing.

I'm serious. All I could see was a purplish-black void where countryside should be. Floating in this void right next to the land, tethered to the town by a chain, was a small vessel that looked like Second Earth's early versions of a spaceship. Except this spaceship was bright orange with green wings and a green cone.

"What is that?" I asked Leon. He had walked up to the ship and opened a small hatch in the side.

"This is a Gummi Ship. This is how I travel between territories." He motioned for me to get in. I shot him an "are you insane?!" look. "It's perfectly safe. The Heartless are what we truly have to look out for. They fly in the void between worlds, too, and they try to stop anyone they don't know from getting from one territory to the next."

That was supposed to make me feel better? My faith in this guy was wearing rather thin by now. Granted, he hadn't lied to me yet, but there was no way I was getting into that thing without some sort of assurance that it was safe.

"Think of it this way. I'm going to the tournament with or without you. I have all the answers that you need. Can you really afford to waste your time trying to flume to territories that you have to learn about or may not even know the proper name for, or would you rather go with someone who can help you fit in better?"

Cursed logic. I glared at him and boarded the ship without further protest. Leon laughed at me (which didn't make me feel a whole lot better) and followed me, closing the hatch behind him.

"Just sit back and let me drive," he said. I kicked back in the comfortable seat and looked around. I was in a pretty standard cockpit. All of the controls were in front of the other seat, with a few in front of me that were probably for emergencies only. There were two more seats behind me.

Leon reached in front of me an opened a glove compartment-type space, revealing a stack of papers. "It'll be a long trip, and a rather smooth one. Would you like to write your journal?"

I shrugged. I knew you guys were bound to be worried about me, so I said, "Sure."

He pulled out a small book-like thing and handed it to me, along with a purple pen. I watched him start the Gummi Ship and put on what I assumed to be an autopilot, for a few minutes later he pulled out the journal from his friend Cloud.

It's taken me a while to write all this. According to Leon, we're about a day away from the Coliseum. I'll end it here.

Hopefully, I'll find out who Sora is soon.

::End Journal 16::

* * *

-Second Earth-

Mark and Courtney looked at each other after finishing the journal.

"For all that writing, nothing much happened," Courtney observed.

"No, a lot happened," Mark protested. "We learned that there is something trying to destroy Halla, other than Saint Dane. If it comes here, we'll be ready. We also learned that there's a way for acolytes and maybe other people from territories to travel between the territories."

"It doesn't help us now, though," Courtney said glumly. "Not unless this Leon person showed up with his Gummi Ship to take us to this Coliseum, too."

Mark opened his mouth to protest but then realized she was right. "Can't we contact Leon for more information?" he asked hopefully.

Courtney shook her head. "He could be in the middle of something important, like fighting those Heartless things. We should just wait until Bobby sends his next journal."

"I want to do _something_ to help," Mark whined. He picked up Bobby's journal and flipped through it again. "You think we could find Second Earth's 'Keyhole'? If we find it, when Bobby comes here we can tell him."

Courtney didn't object right away. She gave the matter serious consideration.

"What if we find it and we lead Saint Dane or the Heartless to it? We won't have to worry about our turning point. We'll be dead."

Those words hung heavily in the air. Mark nodded.

"All right." He looked down at the journal, then checked the time. "The bank's closed. I'll keep this here until tomorrow. I've still got homework, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Courtney nodded. "You'll call, right? Or come get me out of class?"

Mark grinned. "Of course."

Courtney left. Mark looked down at the journal he held and sighed.

"Just when it seems like I'll get in on the adventure…" he murmured.

He did have homework to do, so he carried the journal upstairs and secured it in the desk in the attic before heading to his room to do his Chemistry.

The next journal didn't arrive for several weeks, and Mark feared for Bobby. Courtney scoffed and told him he was being ridiculous.

Mark had other things to worry about, though. A week after hearing from Bobby, he had to study for a major test in his English Composition class, a test that could mean passing or failing for some kids. And Mark, though a genius with science and math, was average when it came to languages of any kind.

Courtney was still trying to get back at the girls on the varsity team. She worked her butt off in practice and still had to dodge the girls on the team. They would wait at strategic locations and attempt to trip, splash water on, or otherwise humiliate her.

Mark passed his English test. Barely.

* * *

It happened in American History. Mark was dutifully copying down notes about the American Colonization when the ring twitched. He looked down at it blankly, his mind still caught up in the historical significance of the events at Jamestown. It twitched harder.

Mark's mind whirled back to the present and with a rushed, "Gotta go to the bathroom" to the teacher, he raced from the room and down the hallway. He knew where Courtney was, but the ring was already expanding. Would he be able to get there in time?

He skidded to a stop and waved frantically at Courtney through the door of her French classroom. Fortunately, Courtney was already looking his way and she saw the stone starting to change color. Mark mouthed 'bathroom' to Courtney and ran like quigs were on his tail for the boy's bathroom on this floor. The musical notes had started sounding already, and as soon as he burst into the bathroom he wrenched the ring from his finger and threw it. He turned away from the building light and waited for it to pass.

Courtney came in right after the ring had returned to normal. Mark guessed she'd been waiting until the ring had deposited the journal before entering, probably to keep the light and sound from escaping into the school.

"Should we read it now?" Courtney asked as Mark bent to pick up the scroll of paper and ring. This journal was similar to the one from Cloud that Bobby had described in his journal sixteen.

Mark looked at his watch. School was minutes from being over. "Let's wait until we get to one of our houses. My dad's going to be home, so maybe your house would be a better idea."

Courtney nodded. "I can skip practice today. We can take the early busses home."

Mark nodded. "I don't have any way to hide this," he said, holding the journal out to Courtney. "I have to grab my stuff from History. Let's meet by the front doors. Okay?"

Courtney tucked the journal into her purse. "Of course," she said.

A half an hour later they were in Courtney's basement.

"Are you ready for this?" Courtney asked Mark.

"No," Mark answered honestly. "But let's do this anyway. I'm dying of curiosity!"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Good thing you're not a cat."

She unrolled the journal and began reading.

* * *

::Journal 17::

::Coliseum::

Leon parked the Gummi Ship right next to another outside of the Coliseum's gates. This one was orange and yellow. I looked questioningly at it.

"That's Sora's ship. He's here, like I thought. Come on."

I followed him through the gates and into the territory proper. We emerged from the gates into a large area in front of a large set of doors. Instead of going towards these, though, he hung a left and I nearly fell over trying to follow him.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He stopped and looked up. I followed his gaze and saw four hanging scrolls. Upon inspection, they looked like tournament rankings. I remembered that there was supposed to be a tournament here. From the looks of these, it was already underway.

Leon pointed. "Those two tournaments have already happened," he explained, indicating the two scrolls to the far right. I looked and saw the same name at the top of each: Sora. "This one is in progress," Leon continued, pointing to the one he was in front of. "These are magic, changing after each fight to indicate changes in rank." He indicated the last scroll. "This one is going to happen soon."

I studied these two. The tournament that was already happening had Sora ranked fourth. The final scroll listed him in last place.

"You're on here," I said, pointing to the last scroll. Leon was in the eighth spot.

Leon nodded. "The next tournament will be soon after this one, and I already registered. Now come on. Cloud's on this territory, according to his journal. I want to find him."

I didn't object and followed him through the doors I'd first seen. We entered a lobby of some sort, with a short man sitting next to the exit on the far side of the room. I had to blink twice. This man was short, like a dwarf, and his lower half was that of an animal of some sort, either horse or deer, I couldn't tell which.

"Hey, Leon," he greeted. "I'm glad you're here. Your fans have been getting so restless that you can enter the tournament now, if you want. Sora's in the middle of his battle, so you have a few minutes, but then you fight next."

Leon laughed. "I don't get a choice, do I?" he asked. "All right. Is Cloud in the stands?"

The deer thing shrugged. "I don't know. Look for yourself." He pointed through the door. I looked and saw a large open space occupied by two groups battling each other.

"Come on," Leon told me, walking through the door. I hurried to follow. He led me around the battlefield to a group a tiered seats. He stopped and looked at the crowd clogging the stands, and I guess he found his friend Cloud because he grabbed my arm and led me to a large blonde man. He was wearing dark clothes with a red scarf around his neck and I saw that he had a single black wing emerging from his shoulder. I couldn't help but stare at that, and the large sword that rested next to him. It was humongous. You remember that show, Rurouni Kenshin? Picture Sanosuke's sword, and you have this one. Only this one was covered in a whole bunch of bandages.

"Hey, Cloud," Leon greeted. Blue eyes turned from their observation of the battle in the stadium to look at Leon. "Fancy meeting you here."

Cloud shrugged. "I figured you would be here. You hardly ever miss a tournament." He seemed to notice me for the first time. "Who's this?"

"Bobby Pendragon," I introduced myself.

Something flickered in his eyes, then. I thought I saw sadness, mixed with a hint of something that I could not place. "I had hoped that Denduron's Traveler was mistaken when he said that Press was dead. Your uncle told me many things about you, Pendragon, when we sought to save my territory from Saint Dane."

I didn't even bother wondering this time. Uncle Press knew everyone. That's just how it was. "Please just call me Bobby," I said instead. "It's nice to meet you."

The crowd roared then, and I looked to the battlefield to see that the fight was over. A teenager, around my age, was holding up a strange-looking sword, more like a key than anything, in victory. His opponents were scattered around the field, unconscious or dead I couldn't tell which.

Leon chuckled. "Looks like I'm up," he said. "Bobby, you stay here. This battle won't take very long."

I nodded. "Good luck."

Leon waved and pushed his way through the crowd to the stadium. I watched him go, then turned to look at Cloud. He was watching me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"I heard you saved Cloral from Saint Dane. How did you manage it alone?"

I shook my head. "Uncle Press was still alive, and he helped me."

He leaned back in his seat. "Tell me about it. Press died on Cloral, didn't he?"

I looked away, but, since I didn't have anything better to do, I recounted the story of Cloral to him. He said nothing until I reached the part at the end where Spader got Uncle Press killed. I couldn't bring myself to tell this part, so I fell silent.

"Your Uncle wouldn't want you to be sad," Cloud noted as he turned his attention back to the tournament. "You'll see him again."

I nodded. "That's what he told me, but I don't know how it's possible."

"You've seen a lot. How can you believe anything's impossible?"

I thought about it, then smiled. "That's true. Thanks."

"It's Leon versus Sora now. The last time they fought, Sora lost. I wonder who the victor will be this time."

I looked at the field. Leon was standing face to face with the kid from before. Both had their weapons drawn. Both seemed to be waiting for something.

"That's Sora down there," Cloud explained to me. "Donald and Goofy sat out this time. They're over on the other side cheering Sora on."

"Who're Donald and Goofy?" I asked.

"You'll meet them. Leon brought you here to meet Sora, didn't he?"

I nodded, then wondered how he'd managed to change the subject from Uncle Press to the tournament without my noticing.

I decided not to press the issue and settled back to watch the fight.

And what a fight it was. As soon as the signal was given to start, Sora charged at Leon. Leon managed to block the first blow, but Sora spun around and got in a cheap shot before dashing away, out of range of Leon's weapon (which I learned later was called a Gunblade, though I don't know why). Leon followed him, but Sora caught him with a burst of fire from his weapon, then ran up and executed a wicked combo.

Amazingly, Leon didn't look hurt and recovered swiftly. Sora stayed well out of range of Leon's blade and attacked with magic for while before rushing in and scoring more cheap shots while Leon was recovering. What few shots Leon did manage to land were powerful, though. The battle was too close to call until Sora raised his sword and called forth a barrage of thunder. His aim was dead on, and Leon stumbled and fell to one knee, the only thing keeping him from faceplanting being the Gunblade. He panted heavily while Sora was declared the winner.

Cloud applauded with the rest of the crowd. I just sat there dumbstruck.

Cloud stood. "Come. Leon and Sora will be waiting in the lobby."

I followed him. There were a lot of people milling about, but Cloud was hard to lose. His wing flapped every once in a while, as if making sure that I could find him.

We made it to the lobby without incident. I saw Leon and Sora waiting off to the side of the river of people and headed for them. With them were a six foot tall dog and a white duck that was shorter than me.

I was finally able to get my first good look at Sora. My estimation of his age had been right; he didn't look any older than me. His brown hair was spiked, reaching every which way above his head in a style that I can only describe as artsy, and his blue eyes were bright and cheerful. And – dare I say it? – I think you would have found him cute, Courtney.

His clothes weren't the strangest I'd seen. He wore a red jumpsuit-type thing, but they were shorts rather then long pants, and over this he wore a white and blue tee shirt that was open over his chest. What stuck out most about his clothes, though, were his large yellow shoes. I'm serious, they were huge! He wore fingerless gloves, also blue and white, as well.

"Hey, Bobby," Leon greeted as we separated ourselves from the crowd and made our way over to them. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"Is there a way for me to learn magic?" I asked. "That was awesome!"

Leon laughed. "I thought you'd like it. Bobby, this is Sora," he introduced. "Sora, this is Bobby Pendragon."

We shook hands. "Nice to meet you," he grinned.

"Same here."

"So you were looking for me?" Sora asked, leaning against the wall behind him. The duck ruffled its feathers as if it were annoyed at not being introduced, but Sora ignored it.

"I was in Traverse Town and Merlin said that maybe you could help me," I tried to explain. "I want to help save all of the territories from Sai- um, the Heartless," I amended quickly.

The duck quacked. "You'll only get in our way!"

I stared at it. I couldn't help it. A talking duck was a bit too much.

"Just give him a shot," Leon suggested. "I fought with him on Traverse Town when he got ambushed by Heartless. He's not that bad."

Sora looked skeptical. "How do you know we can trust him?" he asked Leon. I felt only slightly like a third wheel here.

Leon shrugged. "Merlin gave him the weapon he carries. If Merlin trusts him, I'm sure we can too."

Sora looked at me as if he were sizing me up. I tried to pretend I wasn't nervous, but I was.

"All right. But don't get in the way," he said. He wasn't mean and nasty about it, though. I smiled.

"I'll leave you, then," Leon said to me. I shook his hand.

"Thanks for bringing me here."

Leon waved it aside. "No problem. It gave me an excuse to come here, anyway."

"I'm off to Second Earth," Cloud told me. "That's your home, isn't it?"

I nodded. Sora looked at me curiously. "Your home is still there? Then how did you get here?"

I shrugged. "Long story. I'll tell you later." I turned back to Cloud. "A bit of advice: Hide the wing and lose the sword. You'll attract too much attention. The Heartless haven't gotten to my territory yet, but Saint Dane might be trying something. He hates me, after all."

Cloud nodded. "Thanks. Anything else?"

"The quigs are big monster dogs."

Cloud didn't seem worried. "Later, then," he said, walking off.

Sora looked at me strangely. "What was that about?"

"Hopefully you won't have to find out," I said sincerely. Anyone who knew about Travelers was in danger. Granted, we'd just discussed Traveler business in front of Sora, but Cloud had started the conversation, not me.

Sora shrugged. "Whatever. Come on. We're going back to Wonderland. Donald thinks we might have missed something when we were there before."

I looked between the dog and the duck. "Which is Donald?" I asked.

The duck looked offended. "Me!" it quacked.

"And I'm Goofy," the dog introduced.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said, jogging off.

The crowd had thinned a lot by then, so we had no problem staying together as we left the lobby and headed for the territory's exit. I looked around closely and spotted a star symbol that marked the entrance to a flume. It was way off to the side and nearly invisible unless you knew what to look for.

Then we were outside the territory. Leon's Gummi Ship was gone, and Sora led us to the other one. I climbed in and got comfortable. Donald climbed into the pilot's seat, Goofy took the Copilot's seat, which left me sitting next to Sora. He yawned.

"So what's your world like?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "It's pretty cool, I guess. It's big, with a whole bunch of different countries with a lot of different governments that don't like each other very much."

"What about your hometown?" Sora wanted to know.

"It's relatively small, so not a lot goes on. And it's peaceful."

Lord, I missed home.

I went on to describe Stony Brook in detail. He listened as I talked about school, about basketball, about everything. Then he asked me the question I had hoped he wouldn't.

"What about your family?"

I looked away. Even now, I couldn't forget all of the emotions that swam through my head that sunny day when I learned that my life, my family, was gone.

I couldn't bear to answer his question.

Sora, thankfully, didn't push. He stood and went between our seats. "Come on. While we're on our way, I'll try and teach you some magic. Donald would be better for this, but I don't think he likes you very much."

The feeling was mutual.

I followed Sora through a small hatch between our two seats that I hadn't seen before. We emerged from the cockpit into a spacious room with machines on each side.

"This is the Engine Room," Sora explained. "Watch out for Chip and Dale, and don't damage anything."

I nodded. "Who're Chip and Dale?" I wanted to know.

"They repair the ship and everything. Oh, and they're really tiny, so be sure to watch your step."

I looked around but didn't see anything.

"Now, about magic," Sora began. I turned my attention back to him and listened. "It's not very hard to learn, but it's hard to get right. It's easiest to focus your magic through something. I use the Keyblade," he said, summoning the weapon from thin air. It was a giant key that didn't seem sharp at all. I could see where it got its name from, though.

I drew Merlin's sword. "I think this will do," I said.

Sora grinned. "Okay! Now you've just got to feel your magic, and focus on what you want it to do. Why don't you try an ice spell?" he suggested, scanning the room and locating a bucket. "You can aim for this. Try to freeze it."

That wasn't a very good explanation at all. I stared at him like he'd gone nuts. He smiled encouragingly.

"I don't know what magic feels like," was the first thing I could say.

Sora shrugged. "Mine feels like a warm breeze off the ocean on a sunny day. Maybe yours will feel like something you like, too."

I lowered my sword so that its tip barely brushed the ground and thought. Hard. What was something I enjoyed the most?

It wasn't long before I had my answer.

I was still dying to play basketball again. I smiled as I thought of what it felt like to run down the court, to blast the ball past your opponents and score just before the end of the game. What it felt like to snatch a simple victory with seconds to spare.

It felt like a warm fire inside, like the rush of adrenaline I always felt when I was thundering down the basketball court with ten seconds left on the clock and we were tied. I could feel the fire moving through me, drifting to my sword, and both Sora and I jumped when a spark flashed out of it, scorching the floor.

"Wow," was all I could think of to say.

Sora grinned even wider, if it was possible. "Want to try freezing something now?"

I nodded, turning to the bucket and raising my sword. I focused on that feeling again, willing it to my sword and holding it there. I could feel it writhing in the sword, dying to get out, and I raised the weapon so that its tip pointed directly at the bucket.

"Do I just focus on ice?" I asked absently, my attention focused on my newly-discovered magic. It curled inside my sword, pushing impatiently outwards, trying to find an outlet for itself.

"It works for me," was the reply. I thought back, way back, and recalled the journey back to the flume on Denduron, the feeling of the little icicle shards biting into my skin, the freezing wind that kept said shards coming at us non-stop.

I couldn't hold the magic anymore. It burst from my sword in a whoosh of frigid blue air, striking the bucket and sending it clattering across the room. Sora went and retrieved it while I caught my breath. That had been cool!

Sora looked like his face was about to split in half, he was grinning so widely. I looked at the bucket in his hands and noticed that there were tiny scratches where the cold wind had hit it.

Just like that snowstorm.

I couldn't help my own grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Ack. Forgot to save after adding notes. Oops?

So anyway. I'll try to have the fourth chapter up soon! Sorry for all the delays -bows-

* * *

I don't own Pendragon or Kingdom Hearts. Those are (c) DJ Machale and Disney, respectively.

* * *

:Wonderland::

I practiced magic for the rest of the trip. It took me a few hours, but I mastered all of the basic elemental spells. By the time I was finished, I was exhausted, as if I really had just played a full game of basketball.

I was sweaty, panting, but happy. Sora looked surprised.

"I didn't think you'd learn everything," he confessed when I flopped down against the wall for a break.

I laughed. "I'm full of surprises, even for myself," I informed him.

That made him laugh. A horn sounded then, and Sora pulled himself to his feet. "Come on. That means that we're almost to our destination." He offered me his hand, and I gladly accepted his help.

"Here," Sora said, handing me an Ether from his little black bag. "I'm sure Leon's already told you about these."

I nodded and gulped down the liquid. My exhaustion was mostly gone instantly. There was still a slight weakness in my limbs, but I could function.

Leon was right. Ethers in an emergency. I wanted to sleep.

The ship shuddered, then the engines went silent. Sora motioned me over to a hatch hidden by one of the huge engines. This one was towards the back of the ship, right next to the back wall. We exited the ship and joined Donald and Goofy at the nose.

Looking around, all I saw of Wonderland was a large hole. It was so deep I couldn't see the bottom.

Sora peered down it as well. "I remember this," he remarked dryly. He suddenly grinned at me. "See you at the bottom!"

I was too late to grab him before he swan dived into the pit. Donald was right behind him, followed by Goofy. I only stared stupidly after them. They had to be insane!

I faintly heard Goofy's voice echoing back to me, "Come on, Bobby! It's safe!"

Apparently, they'd survived somehow. I looked around one last time before mimicking Sora in my jump.

It was a long fall, but I wasn't plummeting. It was like I was being held up by a warm breeze, sort of like when I ride on the flumes, you know? After a few minutes I kicked back and enjoyed it.

Ten minutes later I was dumped unceremoniously on my butt onto a stone floor. My startled yelp was drowned out by Sora's chuckles and Goofy's gales of laughter. Donald didn't look amused in the slightest.

I scowled. "You could have warned me," I complained.

"But it wouldn't have been fun," Sora said innocently. I picked myself up, dusted off my jeans, and looked around for the pile of clothes that always awaited me on a new territory. I didn't see it, which confused me at first, but Sora's voice distracted me from contemplating this occurrence.

"Come on," Sora said, heading down a tunnel that I saw only a second before. It was a long stone tunnel, the brick walls bare.

At the end of the tunnel was a door that Sora didn't even hesitate at. I followed him through it and had to stop and blink.

It was a bedroom. There was a bed against the wall. Next to it was a door that looked like it had been built for the rats. A fireplace lay to my left, its opening barely large enough for my fist.

The dominating feature for this room (aside from the revolting pastel pink wallpaper) was the large table in the center of the room and its accompanying chair. On this table were two bottles full of a red and a blue liquid. Sora immediately went to this table and picked up the bottle of red liquid.

"Bottoms up," he grinned before taking a sip of the liquid. There was a puff of smoke, and the next time I was able to see, Sora had vanished. The bottle had made its way back to the table. Donald picked it up next, then Goofy. Both took a sip of it. Both vanished in a puff of smoke. I looked around for them but couldn't find them.

I looked to the bottle on the table. That was my key to finding them again. I picked it up, held my nose, and took a sip.

Smoke filled my eyes, and I felt a strange sensation, like I was falling without moving at all. I held my breath and waited for the smoke to clear. It didn't take very long.

"I was afraid you were going to step on us," Sora scolded from behind me. I whirled around to see the three of them hiding behind the leg of the table. We were still in the pink room. Everything had just gotten a whole lot bigger. I was the size of a mouse in a normal-sized room.

"How was I supposed to know that you guys shrank?" I retorted. Sora only laughed at my indignation.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Now come on, and watch out for Heartless."

"What are we here for?" I wanted to know as I followed the trio to the bed. More precisely, under the bed. I saw there an opening that hadn't been visible when I was normal-sized.

"Maleficent might have stopped by here since we were here last," Sora said. "Last time, the Heartless kidnapped a girl from here, so there might be something here that could help us fight the Heartless."

"How'd you reach that conclusion?" I asked dryly. We had stopped right next to the opening under the bed.

Sora shrugged. "There's something about that girl that Maleficent likes, so there may be something here, on her home world, that might help us."

"Logical," I admitted. "So why don't we use the door?"

Donald snorted. "It can't be bothered to wake up for us."

"Wake up?" I repeated. I then shook my head. "I don't even want to know."

Sora laughed. "Come on. And watch out for your head, or you could lose it."

That was a comforting thought. I kept one hand on my sword as I followed them through the opening and into a forest clearing. My brain had been bombarded with so many logic-defying things that I didn't even notice the change until I was standing in front of a podium holding a large, fat Queen.

Boy, did I have a major flashback moment to Denduron.

"That's the Queen of Hearts," Goofy whispered to me as we approached. "She likes to order beheadings."

I stared at her without trying to be blatant about it. She was dressed like the Queen of Hearts, all right, but she wasn't acting very queenly at the moment. She was loud, too.

"Off with his head!" she shouted furiously to a rabbit standing next to her. My heart froze for a moment until I realized that she was pointing to one of the playing cards that clogged this clearing. We had to push their cardboard bodies aside in order to advance. They weren't very happy about it.

"Your Majesty!" Sora shouted when he broke through the last line of cards. Donald and Goofy were right behind him, and I was right behind them.

What I saw was the most bizarre scene I had ever encountered.

The Eight of Spades was lying on its back with the Nine of Diamonds on top of it to hold it down. The white rabbit that had been issued the order stood over it with an axe.

All three of them were looking at Sora like he was an alien. Which, to them, he was.

"You dare interrupt a beheading?" the Queen roared. "Off with his head!"

Sora dodged the Seven of Hearts as it charged at him with its sword raised. "One moment, I ask you!" he yelled. The Queen grunted.

"You have one moment, thief," the Queen growled.

"I came to ask if you have heard of anything strange since I was here last," Sora said in a non-aggressive tone. The Queen seemed to consider this for awhile. "And I'm not a thief," Sora added. "None of us are."

The Queen nodded. "You have yet to prove it to me, but I will wait until you bring the other thief back. I have not seen anything except that wretched Mad Hatter. He's in the house in the forest. He's the one to talk to for information."

Sora nodded. "Thanks."

"And don't come back without the thief!" The Queen roared.

We made it out of there pretty fast, the cards parting to let us through. We found a different way out than our way in and emerged into the forest proper. It was dark and gloomy, not exactly a place I would have preferred to be.

"Why was she calling you guys thieves?" I asked Sora.

"The first time we came here, we arrived in the middle of a trial. The Queen thought a girl named Alice was trying to steal her heart. It wasn't true, of course. The Heartless were trying to steal her heart, and I proved it. She didn't believe me anyway, and while we were trying to rescue Alice, she was kidnapped by the Heartless, and the Queen wants us to find her so that she can finish the 'trial'." Sora snorted. "I want to find Alice, of course, but I'm not going to let the Queen have her beheaded."

I nodded. It made sense, after all.

"Now come on. The Mad Hatter's house is on the other side of the forest, and the Heartless like this place."

I trailed behind the trio as we picked out a path between the trees. I kept shooting glances behind me, in case Heartless decided to ambush us.

It was fortunate I was keeping an eye out. I was the only one who saw the Heartless tracking us an instant before it attacked, and therefore the only one prepared to defend Sora as it burst from the trees, razor-sharp claws seeking to embed themselves in flesh.

"Look out!" I yelled, the only warning there was time to give, drawing my sword in a flash and leaping between Sora and the Heartless. I caught the blow on the flat of my sword, causing the Heartless to jump back. On cue, more Heartless made themselves known, and soon I was faced with three.

These Heartless were different from the ones on Traverse Town. These were about the size of a small child and covered in blue armor edged in red flame-like designs. Silver helmets caught the feeble sun, throwing beams of light across the clearing.

I saw a few, though, that had eyes. Yellow eyes, to be precise. When I slashed one, it was made of flesh, not shadow.

I didn't have time to dwell on these observations, though. I was busy parrying, striking, and defending with a skill I'd only seen on TV. I wasn't thinking about this, though. I was concentrating on surviving.

To my left, Donald was whacking his own opponents with a staff about half as tall as he was, topped with something that looked like a stiff wizard's hat. To my right and a few feet behind, Goofy was taking on three Heartless with a small round shield. Behind me, Sora was doing quite well for himself with his Keyblade.

The battle lasted only five minutes. When it was over, we were tired and sweaty, but the Heartless were dead. A few bodies were on the forest floor, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy were looking confused.

"Heartless don't leave bodies," Sora said after a moment.

I knelt next to one and flipped it over so that we could see its face. Yellow, glassy eyes stared at the sky a few inches from my head, and I shuddered. Even in death, those eyes showed a ferocity that I'd only seen elsewhere.

"Quig," I whispered to myself.

The quigs on Wonderland were Heartless. I glanced down at my ring and saw that the stone was glowing. Sora followed my gaze.

"Your ring's glowing," he said. "What's it mean?"

How could I explain? I paused a moment, then said, "It glows when there are quigs around."

That was partly true. I didn't want to mention the flumes yet. And quigs hung around flumes.

"You mentioned quigs before," Donald said. "When you were talking to Cloud. You said the quigs were big monster dogs, and that sure isn't a dog." He pointed at the Heartless quig.

"Quigs are different on each world," I said. "We should get out of here before more show up." I stood and stepped carefully over the quig.

Turns out, it wasn't dead. It reached out and grabbed my leg, digging its claws deep. The pain was horrible, but not unbearable. I sliced off its arm and dove to the side, allowing Sora to step in and finish it. Its horrible cry echoed through the forest. I clutched my bleeding leg. Blood spurted through my fingers and onto the ground. It wasn't a pretty sight, and it didn't feel very good, either.

"Are you all right?" Sora asked, kneeling next to me. He winced when he saw my wound. "Ouch."

"No kidding," I said dryly. "Can you do something about it?"

Sora raised his Keyblade and said, "Cure!"

Translucent green leaves appeared from nowhere and floated around me, vanishing before they touched the ground. As they fell, I felt my wound close and suddenly I wasn't tired anymore. I stared at my bloody hand, then my ankle. My arm, the one injured on Traverse Town, didn't hurt anymore either. I unraveled the bandage to see that the gashes had closed, leaving only three thin scars.

I was speechless. Sora offered a hand, and I let him pull me up. I tested my ankle and it didn't hurt at all. If not for all of the blood, no one would have been able to guess I'd been injured.

"Wow," was all I was able to manage.

Sora grinned. "Now come on. The Mad Hatter's house is only a few minutes away."

"You've got some explaining to do, though," Donald warned.

We left the dead quigs behind and made it safely to the house of the Mad Hatter. The Hatter was a short little madman enjoying a cup of tea at a picnic table outside of his house. His conversation partner was a purple-striped cat that lapped at the tea like it was a cup of milk. He looked up when he saw me, and I swear, his grin stretched from one furry ear to the next, it was so wide. I'm not kidding.

"Well, well," it said. "If it isn't the lead Traveler, or should it be the Traveler being led?" It blinked lazily. "I've been expecting you, which in itself is unexpected. We don't often see Travelers on our poor territory. What brings poor you here to our humble territory?"

We all blinked at it.

"And you are?" I asked blankly.

"Oh, silly me, silly you, silly them. I'm the one and only Cheshire Cat, the one who knows all and the one who knows nothing." Its expression didn't change at all. It only blinked lazily again.

"The Queen said you might now what has been going on here," Sora said.

The Mad Hatter cackled. "Terrible happenings, terrible. They may interrupt my tea time." He sipped from his cup and poured another.

"The yellow-eyed creations of the demon saint have come, oh yes," the Cat added.

"The quigs?" Sora asked.

"Why yes, my young Traveler," the Cat grinned. "The quigs, the demons who plague the territories guarding the gates of the fates of Halla."

"You know about Halla?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Of course. Halla is everything and nothing, everywhere and nowhere," the Cat said as if this were the most reasonable thing in the world. Worlds. Whatever.

"Where did the quigs come from?" Sora asked.

"They came from the Hollow Castle, from the Demon Saint, from Pendragon and from Kairi," the Cat answered.

"How'd you know his name?" Donald demanded.

"Why shouldn't I?" the cat answered back. "He's famous, you know. Saving three territories at once? Quite a feat. Earth is not safe, though, not in the least. You must find its heart, whether it be first, second, or third."

Sora's group shot me a strange look. I shrugged. "He's saying I have to find the heart of my world," I guessed.

"That's what I said," the Cat said idly.

"So what's going on in this territory?" I asked, trying to divert the topic.

"The Queen steals heads, but will lose her own soon enough," the Cat cackled. "Soon, Pendragon. Soon. Demon Saint has been here but is now gone, and the shadows draw ever closer. The territory will topple, and Halla along with it."

"The turning point," I guessed.

"I said that," the Cat said irritably. It stood and stretched. "Well, I must be off now, but first I have something for our dear Pendragon." It padded over to a small grey cloth bag on the table, picked it up with its tail, and brought it over to me. "You will know who to give this to when the time is right," it told me. I took the bag and, opening it, found two Traveler rings.

When I looked up, the Cat had gone.

"That was informative," I observed dryly.

"What turning point?" Sora asked. "What did it mean?"

I sighed.

"In addition to the Heartless threat, each territory will one day come across a point in time that will determine whether the territory will fall into eternal chaos or prosperity," I explained. "That's the turning point of the territory."

"You keep saying 'territory', why?" Goofy asked.

That I couldn't answer right away. Finally I said, "That's what my Uncle referred to the worlds as, so I just… fell into the habit of calling them territories."

It was the truth. Partly, at least.

"There've never been quigs on Wonderland before," Sora said, falling into a chair at the long table where the Hatter was obliviously having his tea.

"That means this territory's turning point is approaching," I said. "The quigs on each territory will be different, but you can tell them apart from everything else by their yellow eyes. The quigs on my territory are giant monster dogs, like I told Cloud. On a territory I've been to that's all covered in water, the quigs are giant monster sharks. They're adapted to the territory and always deadly."

They all sat there and processed this information. "How do you know all this?" Sora asked me finally.

"I can't tell you," I answered honestly. "I don't understand some parts of it myself. All I know that this moment, right now, was meant to be." I chuckled. "That's what my uncle said when he died. 'This is the way it was meant to be'. I believe it."

They accepted my answer. For the moment.

"All right. So how do we figure out the turning point?" Donald asked.

"The Cat may have told us already. The Queen will lose her head," I recalled. "How, or why, is up to us to find out."

"Is it already too late?" Sora asked.

I shrugged. "We need to rest, though, so we can find out and be prepared for anything."

We returned to the Gummi Ship by going back through the Queen's courtyard and into the bizarre room. The blue potion returned us to our original size, and we went back out the door and to the area where we had first arrived. A few Heartless were waiting for us, but Sora, Donald, and Goofy worked together with an ease that I envied, and the Rest Point, a glowing green circle on the ground, was our ticket back to the Gummi Ship. It also healed the wounds we received in the fight.

After a small meal of fruit and vegetables, we all spread out blankets on the engine room floor and settled down to sleep.

* * *

Long after Sora, Donald, and Goofy fell asleep I found myself wide-awake and staring at the ceiling. The Cheshire cat's words kept playing over and over again in my head and I wondered what it'd meant. I knew that the Demon Saint was Saint Dane, but what was he doing on Wonderland? For that matter, how did that cat know about Saint Sane and Halla? Was he the Traveler for this world? Or was he just some random nutjob who'd met Saint Dane?

These thoughts chased themselves around my head as I stared up at the softly lit interior of the Gummi Ship's engine room. The only sounds I could hear were Goofy's snoring and the quiet chatter of the Chipmunks. At least I wasn't the only one awake at this hour.

After a while I got up and pulled on my shoes, vest, and gloves. My sword was propped up near the door next to Donald's staff and Goofy's shield, and I retrieved it quietly. Sora was muttering something about rain and fruit when I slipped out of the ship.

The fall into the world was very relaxing. I enjoyed it and almost regretted when it was over. It was a quiet walk down to the corridor to the door of the pink bedroom and I drank the potion that made me small with minimal hesitation.

The passage under the bed was pitch black, and I had to keep my hands on the walls or else risk hitting them. The passage was about twenty feet long, so it wasn't long before I felt polished wood give way to tangled bushes. I got several minor cuts for my trouble, but I didn't mind.

In the courtyard of the Queen of Hearts I found that the entire deck of cards was bunched in a loose pile around the Queen's podium. The white Rabbit was nowhere in sight. The Queen herself was absent, but I could hear her snoring so I assumed she was sleeping nearby.

The entrance to the forest was an archway made of the same bushes as the path from the house, and through it nothing could be seen. The starlight that lit the courtyard could not get through the trees. I was a bit nervous, but I stepped through the archway and began making my way through the forest.

It took me an hour to get to the clearing where we'd been attacked by quigs and the Heartless. The bodies of the quigs were still there, their yellow eyes gleaming softly from the light of the moon that had only appeared within the last five minutes. Sora had told me on our way back to the Gummi Ship about how the Heartless took on different forms to suit the worlds they attack, so I now knew that the quigs of Wonderland took the form of Heartless Soldiers. The things that had attacked me on Traverse Town were Shadows.

I skirted past the quigs and continued on my way. Another half hour brought me to the clearing where I'd first met the Cheshire Cat. Neither he nor the Mad Hatter was in sight, but the table was still set for tea.

"Great," I complained to a nearby teapot. "I came all this way for nothing."

The teapot waddled over to a cup and poured some tea. I chuckled.

"Thanks," I said, taking a seat and picking up the cup. The tea was still warm and, as I sipped, I watched the teapot. I knew it was watching me, and after a minute it waddled over to a softly boiling saucepan and tapped it with its spout. It waddled back over to me and tapped my left hand, which was resting on the table, then turned around and went back to the saucepan and tapped it again.

I watched it bemusedly as it repeated these actions several times before I finally understood what it wanted me to do. I picked up the saucepan and refilled the teapot after it opened its lid for me.

"You're welcome," I told it as it settled down happily. Steam trickled out of its spout lazily.

It suddenly occurred to me that I was having a cup of tea at night in the middle of a forest while talking to a teapot. I couldn't help my chuckle.

"Welcome back, Traveler," I heard a voice say from behind me. I twisted in my seat to see the Cheshire Cat lounging in a tree behind me. "What brings you here at this hour?"

"I wanted to know how you knew about Travelers," I said. "Are you the Traveler of this world?"

"I am a Traveler who doesn't travel," the cat said simply. "I have always stayed here. Wonderland is a simple place whose turning point would not have come now if not for the Canine Saint."

"Saint Dane's here?" I asked, slightly alarmed. "I thought you said he was gone."

"He was gone but he's back. You must save the Queen's head, lest this world lose its own." The cat watched its own tail twirl lazily in the air, looking for all the world like it was talking to itself.

I nodded. "So if the Queen dies the territory will fall into chaos. All right. Do you know who's going to kill her?"

The Cat grinned, perfectly relaxed. "The one who will kill her will come from the Hollow Castle in the guise of a friend. The one who holds the Key will know what I mean. Now, good night. I believe there is something of importance waiting at the flume. Do get it before the Demon Canine Saint."

Before I could say another word, he vanished. I stared dumbly at the spot where'd he been before I realized that the teapot was tapping my arm. I looked down to see that is had refilled my cup of tea.

"Thanks," I said, picking it up. "I've got to get back before my friends miss me. I'll see you tomorrow."

It gave a mournful whistle as I left.

Back in the forest I retraced my steps to where the dead quigs lay, then glanced down at my ring and turned until I saw when it glowed the brightest. That was the direction in which the flume lay. I picked my way though the increasingly heavy underbrush for a good ten minutes before I saw the star symbol that designated a flume.

It took another five minutes and a good deal of hacking with my sword to actually get to the opening of the flume. It was a small cave set into the base of a small hill with the star carved into a large oak tree.

Inside the mouth of the cave was a small brown package that was labeled "To Pendragon."

Two hours later I was back at the Rest Point. Stepping into it, I found myself suddenly at the top of the hole right next to the Gummi ship. I walked in as quietly as I could manage in my shoes.

The ship was the same as I'd left it except for one thing: Sora wasn't anywhere to be found. I didn't want to wake Donald and Goofy, so I slipped off my shoes and made my way to the cockpit, the small package tucked under my arm.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Sora asked me as I shut the door as quietly as I could. He was reclining in the pilot's seat, his eyes fixed on the stars outside the window. I was surprised but recovered quickly and settled into the copilot's seat. Sora didn't even turn to look at me.

"No," I admitted. "I went for a walk."

Sora didn't answer, so I turned my attention to the small package I carried. It was relatively light and wrapped with nondescript brown paper, like something sent through the mail on Second Earth. The tearing of the paper attracted Sora's attention and he turned his head to look at me.

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know. I found it in the woods." I finished opening the package and revealed a small wooden carving of a heart crossed with an X. At the bottom where the two halves of the heart met was a small arrowhead shape. A crumpled sheet of parchment paper protected the carving. Sora inhaled sharply.

"That's the Heartless symbol," he said, taking up the carving at examining it closely. I smoothed out the parchment and saw that it was a note.

" 'Dear Pendragon,'" I read aloud. "It's a comforting thought, knowing that one day you will be drawn into my web of darkness. I'm sure that my handiwork on Veelox convinced you that it would be better to join me than to fight.'"

I had to stop reading then. I knew at once who had left the carving.

Saint Dane.

Sora, impatient, took the note form me and kept reading.

" 'Halla shall be thrown into chaos and only those who are on my side shall survive. I once again extend to you my invitation, and give you this carving as a token of friendship.

" 'We shall meet again very soon, and I will await your answer.

" 'Sincerely, Saint Dane.'"

Sora set down the note and studied the carving again.

"Whoever this Saint Dane person is, he's working with the Heartless," he guessed. He handed the carving back to me, and I took it without really noticing. "Is Veelox another world you've been to?"

I nodded, my fist clenching around the small heart that fit nicely into my palm. The wood was good quality, solid and polished, so it withstood the force of my fingers easily.

"That's where I was before I ended up on Traverse Town," I admitted. "I've been chasing Saint Dane for a while, trying to stop him before he gets to my home territory. He managed to manipulate Veelox's turning point the wrong way, into chaos. Everyone on that territory will eventually die."

"Are those worlds destroyed, the ones that he turns to chaos?" Sora wanted to know.

I shook my head. "No, not destroyed utterly. They're all but, though, because life there will degenerate until no one can survive."

Sora pointed outside. "Look."

I did.

"Those stars out there are worlds, territories as you say. Watch closely."

I did, and after a few minutes a star went out. On the other side of my field of vision, a few others vanished.

"Those are worlds that have fallen to the Heartless," Sora said quietly. "The Heartless take hearts because they don't have them, and they seek the heart of each world. They want to draw everyone into the darkness because they can't find the light." He turned away and looked at me. "At least the worlds that fall to Saint Dane are still there," he said bitterly. I caught a small glimpse of sadness in his shadowed blue eyes before he closed them and turned away from me.

I couldn't argue with that. Suddenly, I felt tired. The weight of Halla pressed down on me with such force I feared I'd crumble under the pressure. I was only one Traveler. How was I supposed to save Halla from the combined force of Saint Dane and the Heartless?

Sora shot me a rather strained smile. "It's late, or early depending on how you look at things. We should get what sleep we can."

I nodded agreement and tucked the carving into one of my pockets, then followed Sora into the engine room. I removed my vest and set it on the ground next to my pallet, then set my sword down next to it and curled up in my bed, my blanket wrapped comfortably around me. I heard Sora lie down as well and fidget around for a few minutes before assumedly falling asleep.

It was a while before I drifted off too.

* * *

In case you were wondering, I got the idea of calling the save poins "Rest Points" from Rem-chan's fic "Court of Souls". I used it because it made more sense, ya know? 


End file.
